Town Council crunches budget numbers next week

The Jamestown Town Council will have two public workshops next week as work is finalized on the 2009-2010 budget.

The council will meet on Monday, March 30, to review the proposed town budget. On Tuesday, March 31, the council with meet with the Jamestown School Committee to consider the proposed school budget.

Town Adminstrator Bruce Keiser has presented the town council with a muncipal budget that will not increase the island's property taxes.

Keiser has also suggested that it is possible for the school committee to achieve similar results with its budget.

It is important that our local elected officials consider holding the line on property taxes this year, in light of the prevailing local, state, national and global economic crisis. Times are tough all over. Here in Jamestown, we have islanders who have lost their jobs and neighbors who are concerned about losing their jobs. People are worried.

The budget workshops on Monday and Tuesday evenings next week will be held at the Town Council Chambers in the Town Hall starting at 6:30 p.m. each day. These are public workshops, so islanders are welcome to attend and to express their opinions on the matter at hand.

This is the time to comment on the town and school budgets. If you have a suggestion about the town or school budgets, make it now. These two workshops are where islanders should debate the budgets. Island voters will be asked to approve the town and school budgets at the annual financial town meeting in June. The limitations placed on the financial town meeting make budget debates at that time counter-productive.

As always, please remember to be respectful of each other at these budget workshops. Your fellow islanders have the right to state their opinions, even though you may not agree with them.